The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as part of efforts to extend passport services to the doorstep of Ghanaians, has commissioned a second Premium Passport Application Centre in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional Capital.
The facility is the second to be opened by the Ministry after the Accra Digital Centre and the goal is to ease the incessant pressure on various Passport Application Centres (PACs) across the country, whiles ensuring smooth passport processing and an enhanced customer service.
It is a Public-Private Partnership between the Government of Ghana represented by the Foreign Affairs Ministry on one hand and the VFS Global, on the other.
Another objective is also to leverage technology to enhance passport acquisition process and delivery to Ghanaians as well as complement the work of existing passport application centres.
Mr. Mohammed Habibu Tijani, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, who commissioned the Centre at a brief ceremony, said the establishment of the Centre was an important milestone which signified a new era for the people of the Ashanti.
He observed that accessibility to passport acquisition in the Region would be easier, adding that, there was too much pressure on the existing Kumasi Application Centre, which received at least 400 applications daily.
The Ghana Premium Passport Application Centre, he noted, was an online based system that allowed applicants to fill forms in the comfort of their homes and offices before going to the Centre to complete the process on an appointed date.
“As part of the process to expand the digital space, and to continue to innovate in a fast changing world as well as to address the challenges that confronted the manual passport application system, the Ministry has as at March 1, 2020, migrated all the PACs to the online passport application system,” he announced.
He said the Ministry was in the process of securing office space from the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) in the Upper East, Upper West and Central Regions as well as the six newly-created Regions to establish PACs in their respective capitals.
The Deputy Minister cautioned the general public about using fraudulent means such as forging documents in the application of passport which, he said, undermined the integrity of Ghana passport, saying that, such practices were punishable by law.
Mr. Simon Osei Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, in an address read for him applauded the collaboration between the Ministry and VFS global to bring passport services closer to the people.
He said acquiring a passport had been an arduous task for many Ghanaians and commended government for the innovative steps to improve passport delivery mechanisms for the benefit of the citizens.
